Finally, some accountability in Washington: Sen. Eric Schmitt’s general counsel and poster-holder is in career limbo after the infamous basketball mix-up in the Jack Smith hearing. And Americans seem to be holding Trump responsible for their economic frustrations—he’s below the Bush Line. Josh Barro explains: We’re not in a recession, but people feel stuck because borrowing costs are higher. Big budget deficits are inflationary, the president’s war of choice is making things worse, and our leaders don’t have a plan to deal with any of it. Plus, JVL explains why the markets are finally pricing in the risk of Trump’s war, and he and Tim discuss the weirdos running our government, Hegseth’s obsession with masculinity, and the importance of shame in a liberal democracy.

Josh Barro and Jonathan V. Last join Tim Miller.
show notes:

• Part one and part two of Tim’s list of Democrats who can win Red America
• TIME’s interview of Trump
• Subscribe to JVL’s Triad
• JVL on oil risk premiums
• Jodi Kantor for The New York Times on the public shaming of John Roberts
• Closing Song: The War on Drugs - Suffering

What is going on with Trump's legs? He appears to be wearing a brace and a recent video shows him standing in a most unnatural way—as though he is mid-exorcism. But his apparent health issues don't seem to be stopping the administration from re-escalating against Iran with an additional 10,000 troops on their way to the region. Meanwhile, Trump's son-in-law, Jared (AKA the point person on the Gaza peace deal) turns out to be a war profiteer heavily invested in Israeli bomb-making companies. Plus: Some of the recent polls have been too rosy for the Dems, Islamophobia may be at play in the Michigan Senate race, Tim makes the case for regime change in Eritrea, and the cabal of guys at the All-In podcast—who bought their access to Trump—are some of the loudest voices pushing for his all gas, no breaks approach to AI.

Tommy Vietor joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes:

• Tommy’s “Pod Save the World”
• Recent video of Trump standing
• Closing Song: Orville Peck - “It’s the End of the World”
• The Bulwark’s campaign to help the Haitian community of Springfield
• The Bulwark store
  
  

Elon is now pitching in to help POTUS sabotage Ukraine while Trump makes a payout to Putin and works on his next self-enrichment scheme. A Cooper victory in North Carolina would be key to a potential Democratic Senate majority—a first step to reining in Trump—but the former governor warns Tim that Republicans have historically been undercounted in the polls and his lead should not be taken for granted. Plus: Scheiber in his recent book has the backstory on the radicalization of recent college grads, who tend to support the DSA and think America has too much power. And at a time when even white collar professionals identify with the working class, Trump's economic messaging sounds even more ridiculous.

Roy Cooper and New York Times reporter Noam Scheiber join Tim Miller.

show notes:

• Cooper’s campaign site
• Noam’s book, “Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class”
• JVL on Trump screwing the housing market
• This week’s “The Next Level”
• Link to send to elected Democrats on behalf of Maryam Tahmasebi and her family
• The Jay Kang piece that Tim referenced about Noam’s book
• October Surprise: The Bulwark is 30% off
• Upcoming Bulwark LIVE show in Atlanta on Oct. 20
• The Bulwark’s campaign to help the Haitian community of Springfield
• The Bulwark store
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Florida's Democratic nominee for the Senate says average Americans right now are living in the dreams of oligarchs and the super-rich, and it's time for regular people to live their own dreams. The progressive maverick promises to fight to help all Floridians—regardless of party—to be healthy, prosperous, and safe. And while Republicans like to point out Nixon's DSA affiliation, the Trump administration itself is acting socialist, while also sending immigrants back to countries like Cuba and Venezuela. Plus: Nixon weighs in on Vance's racist dog whistle, and Tim praises Troy Jackson's debate performance against Susan Collins—who seemed out of touch and was forced to play defense over Trump, the war, and the stupid tariffs.

Angie Nixon joins Tim Miller.

show notes:

• Angie’s campaign site
• October Surprise: The Bulwark is 30% off
• Upcoming Bulwark LIVE shows, including Atlanta on Oct. 20
• Closing Song: The War on Drugs - “Suffering”
• The Bulwark’s campaign to help the Haitian community of Springfield
• The Bulwark store
• Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to www.joindeleteme.com/BULWARK and
  use promo code BULWARK at checkout
• For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal, head to 3DayBlinds.com/THEBULWARK

The king of the birther conspiracy knows he needs to round up the white male vote, so he's serving up one of his old faves—straight-up anti-Muslim bigotry. And he's added a new one: Making Americans pay for another political ad, this time about what a tough guy he is. But Trump also has another corruption problem, courtesy of Trump Jr.'s ex-fiancée, Amb. Kimberly Guilfoyle, who seems to have a habit of calling in very expensive favors. Plus: Rubio is laying the groundwork for 2028, Hegseth is lobbying to keep his job after the midterms, the Democratic establishment is coming together for El-Sayed, Bibi has been very bad for Israel, and Trump has created a long-term security crisis for the West as a result of his Iran war.

Susan Glasser joins Tim Miller.

show notes:

• Susan on Hegseth declaring victory in the wrong war
• The NYT on Iran forcing Trump and Hegseth to retreat
• Sam's interview with the guy who snitched on Guilfoyle
• Susan's 'Political Scene' podcast
• Trump falling asleep during the Susan Dell photo-op
• Will Sommer on the Andrew Tate eel-sex problem
• October Surprise: The Bulwark is 30% off
• Closing song: MJ Lenderman's "She's Leaving You"
• Upcoming Bulwark LIVE show in Atlanta on Oct. 20
• The Bulwark’s campaign to help the Haitian community of Springfield

• The Bulwark store

  Join at functionhealth.com/THEBULWARK and use code THEBULWARK25 for a $25 credit.

While the cult of Trump is dragging Republicans' popularity down, the Democrats have good, ideologically diverse candidates running all over the place. And voters aren't stupid: They know Trump's war and his tariffs are why prices are higher. But high-profile polling misses in recent years still haunt Dems, so Adam takes a deep dive into whether Republicans are doing better than the polls are showing. Plus: Derek explains how AI is making our lives more expensive and ponders why people behind AI think it's the most dangerous thing in the world yet still keep trying to build it as fast as possible. And no, AI does not have feelings.

Derek Thompson and Adam Carlson join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

show notes:

• Derek's "The 26 Most Important Facts About AI and the Economy"
• Sam's interview with the guy who snitched on Guilfoyle
• Tim's Take on Vance discussing socialism
• Nate Silver on Derek's "Plain English" pod
• The New Yorker video, "Josh's Wedding," that Tim referenced
• October Surprise: The Bulwark is 30% off
• Closing song: Orville Peck's "It's the End of the World"
• Upcoming Bulwark LIVE show in Atlanta on Oct. 20
• The Bulwark’s campaign to help the Haitian community of Springfield
• The Bulwark store

Not only did the lamest of October surprises blow up in the faces of Ken Paxton and the rightwing loons desperate to get Talarico on something, Greg Abbott is now in a tight race with his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa. And all the money pouring in to prop up Paxton could be better spent on Senate races in Alaska and Kansas. This would be a great time for the Democratic Governors Association to steer (a lot) more funding Hinojosa's way. Plus: Bill and Tim share their long shots, POTUS can't quit showing how much he's in the tank for Putin, MBS is finding out the hard way how the Trump family treats their business partners, don't be distracted by DHS's clownish authoritarianism in raiding Ilhan Omar's home, and the Iranian family that Tim has been advocating for is still in the Dilley detention center.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

show notes:

• Will Sommer and Andrew on MAGA's Talarico breakdown
• Bill in "Morning Shots" on thinking beyond the midterms
• Bill's "Bulwark on Sunday" with Ron Brownstein
• Brendan on the Trump superfan running in upstate New York
• Blake Gendebien's campaign site (NY-21)
• Gina Hinojosa's campaign
• Tim's piece on Maryam Tahmasebi and her family
• October Surprise: The Bulwark is 30% off
• Bulwark LIVE in Atlanta on Oct. 20
• Closing Song: MJ Lenderman - “She’s Leaving You”
• The Bulwark store
• Get 15% off OneSkin with the code BULWARK at https://www.oneskin.co/BULWARK
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Americans are living in a more dangerous world now because of Donald Trump. Not only because of his now-expanding war in the Middle East, but also through his reckless advocacy of AI. And in his desperation over the midterms, he's cut a sinister deal with Putin, the very same man helping Iran to kill Americans. Rice tells Tim this is not the time to be complacent over the good polling numbers. Just go vote. Plus, Democratic strategist Jackie Rosa checks in from South Texas on the electoral landscape there and offers up some advice on how Dems should talk to Latino voters.

Susan Rice and Jackie Rosa join Tim Miller.

show notes:

• JVL on Trump's desperate, weak deal with Putin
• "The Next Level" podcast out later today
• Tim's updated candidate list
• Bobby Pulido's campaign site
• Johnny Garcia's campaign site in TX-35
• October Surprise: The Bulwark is 30% off
• Upcoming Bulwark LIVE show in Atlanta on Oct. 20
• The Bulwark’s campaign to help the Haitian community of Springfield
• The Bulwark store